Ceremony honors local Medal of Honor recipient

Saturday

Mar 23, 2013 at 8:59 PM

Not many people who lie on top of a live grenade live to tell their story.

By Carl McKinneyCorrespondent

Not many people who lie on top of a live grenade live to tell their story.U.S. Marine Cpl. Duane E. Dewey, 81, nicknamed the "Man of Steel," is still breathing and residing in Hawthorne more than 60 years after he did just that.On April 16, 1952, during the Korean War, Dewey was lying on the ground just south of the village of Panmunjom, situated in the middle of the Korean peninsula, when a grenade landed right next to him. Not seeing any way to get the grenade away from the other Marines around him, he tucked it under himself to shield them from the blast."Hit the dirt, doc!" he told the medic attending to his wound, caused by another grenade that had gone off near his feet just before the next, almost fatal grenade had found its way to him.The second grenade exploded right under him, wounding him so badly that he didn't even notice he had been shot in the stomach until he got to a field hospital.President Eisenhower gave Dewey the Medal of Honor for his actions on March 12, 1953, the first time Eisenhower had ever awarded the medal. Dewey is one of only 80 living Medal of Honor recipients, and he's one of 11 living recipients who earned it during the Korean War.On Saturday, the Korean War Veterans Association and the local chapter of the American Legion held a ceremony honoring Dewey and other Medal of Honor recipients.This is the seventh year the ceremony has been held in commemoration of Dewey and the 3,445 others who have been awarded the country's highest military honor."Many people in today's society have no idea what the Medal of Honor is, nor what it stands for," lamented Dewey's grandson, Lenny Schmit, who had to hold back tears to finish his speech.Maj. Dennis Wait, of the Marine Corps, told the audience, mainly veterans and their families, that the people of Alachua County could work to boost awareness of Medal of Honor recipients by celebrating National Medal of Honor Day each year on March 25, which was declared as an annual observance by Congress in 1990.Several members of the veteran community came to commemorate Dewey's accomplishments."I've never heard in my lifetime of anybody diving on a hand grenade who is still alive," said Dick Davis, commander of the Korean War Veterans Association.Davis awarded Dewey a flag that used to fly over Washington, D.C. Dewey also received a proclamation from Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe, as well as a living memorial from the Gainesville Fisher House Foundation, an organization dedicated to veterans affairs.Tribute was also paid to recent Medal of Honor recipient Clint Romesha as well as to James L. Stone and Daniel K. Inouye, both of whom died last year, and to Leslie H. Sabo, who sacrificed his life in 1970.Most of the living Medal of Honor awardees are from the Vietnam War, with the World War II and Korean War generations quickly fading away. Dewey said he feels better than he has in years, but even the "Man of Steel" can't last forever, he conceded."That steel — it's rusting," he said.